Schizophrenia affects individuals around the world. Though it is not something unique to developed nations like our own, researchers are starting to discover that the experience of schizophrenia symptoms can vary widely between different countries. In the brief study summary "Hallucinated voices’ attitudes vary with culture", we learn that the context of auditory hallucinations, such as whether they are positive or negative, can vary greatly between the East and West, and this may perhaps be due to difference in cultural beliefs about the mind and mental health.

"In the United States, schizophrenia’s symptoms include hallucinations of disembodied voices that hurl insults and make violent commands, says an international team led by Stanford University anthropologist Tanya Luhrmann. But in India and Ghana, schizophrenia patients often report positive relationships with hallucinated voices that they recognize as those of family members or God."